Pow! Amazing But True!! A Placebo Pill Can Boost Your Performance
Here, the world’s top sports science experts answer our biggest performance questions. The report comes from this year’s meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine.
The questions ranged from endurance nutrition (carbs, caffeine, sodium bicarbonate), to the effects of a placebo supplement, to using the new weight-loss drugs to “make weight,” to crushed ice, collagen, and female menstrual periods. Everything is freely available at the below link.
I was most drawn to the discussions of high-carb performance (the “carbolution”), sodium bicarbonate, and placebo supplements. Here’s what the experts had to say.
High-carb consumption during competition: This was judged “equivocal” at >100 grams/hour, but the explanations sure sounded like a Yes. A key factor: You must practice in training to make sure you find your personal “sweet spot” that doesn’t produce stomach distress.
This is called a “carbolution” because it represents a giant leap forward. In the 1980s, endurance athletes were urged to take in 22 grams per hour. More recently, that increased to 30 - 60 grams. Now we read about 90 - 100, and even more in some cases.
Sodium bicarbonate in a hydrogel product: This was judged “too little empirical data to confirm or refute.” It could work, or it could make you sick. Marathoners will probably have more problems than cyclists.
Nonetheless, “Anecdotal support has recently come in the form of elite athlete feedback (including marathoners), who say they can perform better with the Bicarb System.”
Placebo supplements: Yes, they work. Yes, you should have one--provided it does no harm. Here’s what one expert said: “Every runner should have a supplement that they believe in. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t actually work: the placebo effect is a race winner in its own right.”
In other words, you must believe to achieve. That’s just 3 of 10 questions debated in the article. Again, it’s available in free full text at the International J of Sport Nutrition & Exercise Metabolism.
Why You Should Do Dynamic Stretches Before Your Next Race
Static stretching decreases run/race performance. This is something runners have heard repeatedly in recent years, even if they didn’t want to believe it.
The bad news about static stretching led many flexibility fans to suggest dynamic stretching as an alternative. Dynamic stretching involves moving and gradually extending stretches that mimic the range of motion you use while running.
Fine. But does it work? Does dynamic stretching actually improve performance?
A new study says Yes! The research pitted static stretching vs dynamic stretching vs no stretching in a group of recreational runners.
All subjects also did some light running as part of their warm up. After the warm up routine, subjects ran on a lab treadmill to assess their running economy, total running distance, and time to exhaustion.
Result: On all performance tests, the dynamic stretching routine led to significantly better outcomes than static stretching or no stretching.
Conclusion: “Our study demonstrates the effectiveness of moderate dynamic stretching in optimizing running economy and performance parameters.”
The exact dynamic stretching routine consisted of 5 minutes of running followed by 10 minutes of dynamic stretching. More at International J of Sports Physiology & Performance.
Should You “Train Low” On Carbohydrates?
Some runners believe that they should occasionally “train low.” This doesn’t refer to low altitude, but low carbohydrates.
One common approach: Do an early morning long run after the overnight fast that occurs during sleep. Consume little or no carbs before this morning long run.
When you train low like this, your body is forced to burn more fats while running. This is one of the supposed goals of marathon training (and ultra training) in general.
Eventually, you’ll run out of carbohydrates from glycogen, the liver, and whatever drinks and gels you consume. At that point, your body must rely more on fat-burning. You become a better fat-burner.
Sounds good so far. But there’s a problem. When you train low on a long run, that run turns harder and less productive than it would be if you had more carbs on board. You can’t go as fast and maybe not as far.
Remember: The goal of training is to get more efficient at your race pace and distance. Not to make pace/distance more difficult to do.
Exercise scientist, nutritionist, and coach Laura Norris explains this in a recent blog. She refutes arguments that support fat-burning and enhanced AMPK signalling. More at Laura Norris Running.
The Best Way To Measure Dehydration
Runners are endlessly concerned about their dehydration status. And looking for ways to detect it.
“What’s your urine color today?” This isn’t how I generally greet friends and running partners. But I’m pretty sure it’s how they judge their morning hydration. (At least, that’s what I do.)
After all, this morning check in routine has been around since the beginning of (runner) time. It’s easy. And many experts and journal articles have recommended it as a useful guide.
Clear urine or hay-colored urine is a good sign. Anything darker, and you should probably head for a glass of water.
But there have also been issues raised, as in this systematic review that particularly questioned accuracy in individuals over age 60.
To end the confusion, a team of top exercise-hydration experts recently held a competition of sorts. They wanted to see if some other measures might prove more accurate than urine color. They included two challengers: change in body weight, and thirst.
Runners hate to use “thirst.” I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard a fellow runner say, “But how do I know when I’m thirsty?”
Yes, it’s a silly statement. But also a frequent response. We trust numbers more than we trust ourselves.
Yet the new paper found that thirst beat urine color for “predicted probability of dehydration.” Thirst wasn’t the outright winner, however. It placed second.
Result: The “most influential predictor of dehydration” was a change in morning body mass, ie, a lower weight.
Conclusion: The authors of the new paper suggest we follow a WUT strategy--Weight, Urine, Thirst--in the morning to assess our hydration status. Of the three, weight is the strongest predictor. More at Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
Good News About Vitamin D And Running
This is the season when we runners have more concerns about our Vitamin D levels. The days are shorter (at least in the Northern Hemisphere,) and the sun less intense.
Nutritionists, bone experts, and cancer researchers all advise that we consider Vitamin D supplements in winter. There are few risks.
Runners are particularly focused on bone health, and often follow the Vitamin D advice they hear. That’s probably a good idea.
Now, a new study has produced results that should reassure runners. It took a “A Snapshot of Vitamin D Status” in runners and non runners.
Result: Blood levels of Vitamin D were significantly higher in both male and female runners than in non runners. Among runners, 64.8% had “optimal Vitamin D levels” vs 34.8% of non runners.
Conclusion: “This finding is likely due to the increased sun exposure that runners receive.” Note: It’s okay to run on the treadmill when necessary, but also be sure to do plenty of outdoor running in winter.
Also: This study “enhances the understanding of how physical activity influences vitamin D levels.” More at Nutrients with free full text.
Big Developments On Fitness & Brain Disease/Alzheimers
Two big studies of middle-aged (and older) adults have concluded that we have several strong tools to fight cognitive decline and Alzheimers.
The first: Push your cardiorespiratory fitness as high as possible. That’s more a reflection of your mile time than your marathon time, but you can’t go wrong with any solid endurance performance.
Individuals with high cardio fitness had a 40% lower risk of developing dementia than those with low cardio fitness. More at British J of Sports Medicine with free full text.
Another large-sample paper showed that adults who were long term users (more than 5 years) of “common cardiovascular drugs” had “significantly fewer dementia diagnoses than non-users.” These drugs included “antihypertensives, diuretics, lipid-lowering drugs (LLDs), and oral anticoagulants.”
On the other hand, use of antiplatelet therapy (like aspirin) was “associated with more dementia diagnoses.” More at Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
As someone who takes a daily baby aspirin, I found this disturbing. I calmed myself by finding a recent, high-quality report that concluded: “Aspirin was not associated with dementia.” More at Neuroepidemiology.
Of course, we should all be aware that advice about aspirin therapy has shifted in recent years. It is now recommended in fewer situations than previously, due to the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. More at Mayo Clinic.
No, Those Marathon Runners Did NOT Have A Heart Attack
Cardiologists have been struggling for some time to understand cardiac troponin release in runners. The appearance of troponin in the blood is considered the gold standard measure for a heart attack.
Yet marathon runners show cardiac troponin after hitting the finish line, and even high school cross country runners release some troponin. These youthful runners have clearly not suffered a heart attack. So what’s going on?
A new study has delved deeply into this subject. The researchers “assessed whether the composition of cTnT [cardiac troponin] release after a marathon race differs from that of acute myocardial infarction.”
To do this they compared 45 runners who had just finished a marathon vs 84 patients who had just suffered a heart attack.
Result: Both showed cardiac troponin in their blood, but the type of troponin was distinctly different. The runners exhibited a shorter form of troponin that was mostly “broken down,” while the troponin in heart-attack patients was longer and more “intact.”
Conclusion: “This novel test holds promise that could help separate benign cardiac troponin levels [in runners] from those of acute myocardial infarction.” More at Open Heart with free full text.
SHORT STUFF You Don’t Want To Miss
>>> Ankle sprained? Be careful. Ankle taping alone is not enough to change lower leg movements.
>>> Rub it on: Can olive oil on the legs improve your cold-day running? Or Vaseline? Or Icy Hot?
GREAT QUOTES Make Great Training Partners
"It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up."
— Babe Ruth